


Tell the World...

by LyricalMelody



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Reunions, Team as Family, canon adjacent, set during s7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 05:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20773124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalMelody/pseuds/LyricalMelody
Summary: ...I'm comin' home.The Paladins of Voltron finally return to Earth, not knowing what to expect and finding there was a bit more than they bargained for upon arrival to the Garrison.Especially with Colleen Holt involved.





	Tell the World...

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 'Mom's Eyes Only' zine.

A million and one thoughts raced through Colleen’s mind as the two armored personnel carriers began their approach to where she and her husband stood, Baebae at her feet, the Esparza family standing nearby, and assorted Garrison personnel scattered about behind them all, waiting with bated breath as they came closer and closer until they pulled up to a stop, engines turning off and the door to the front vehicle opened almost before it had stopped moving, a young person in white and green armor jumping out with a hug meant for her.

_ For her. _

Her Katie was home, and she couldn’t be happier as she caught her daughter in her arms and knelt down, crying tears of joy that  _ one  _ of her children had returned, at least. “Katie,  _ Katie _ , my baby girl, you’re alive, you’re here…!”

“Mom, oh  **God** ,  _ Mom _ , I’ve missed you so much.” Glasses fogged on her little girl’s face as she openly cried, leaving Colleen to pull the glasses off of Katie’s face, holding onto them in one hand while her arms refused to let go.

Around them, she could hear the sounds of feet running, children yelling for their uncle -- the young Esparzas, she was certain -- and another dog she thought with claws scraping against the pavement.

But in that moment, all she knew was she had her baby in her arms, and everything else would right itself. It took her a few minutes to soak that in before Katie was trying to gently pull away, to help her stand, and that was when she noticed something.

Lance had his family. She had her Katie right there. But there were others, one sad boy in yellow armor like Katie’s, and a young man missing an arm. A young man in red, with the...very unique dog, a trio of individuals who looked like Elves, with two at least looking young and out of place.

“Katie, could you maybe introduce me to your friends?” Colleen kept her voice soft -- not for fear of something happening with Katie, but to keep from broadcasting just what she was already planning to do.

These kids had formed a family of their own, fighting a war that had been started years and years ago.

And any family of Katie’s was hers as well. She would get to know them all, and would do everything in her power to take care of them.

Even Defenders of the Universe needed someone in their corner, after all, right?

* * *

Shiro's hand traced over the name on the wall, on the memorial of those who had fallen since the Galra invasion had begun.  _ 'Adam West.' _ His eyes began to water, looking from the name to the picture, lost in thought as Commander Iverson approached.   
  
"Son...I'm sorry." Iverson's voice was low, soft as a hand came to rest on his shoulder.   
  
"No...he did what was expected of him, expected of  ** _us_ ** . We are astroexplorers, but we are also  **soldiers** , protecting what we find dear to us. This -- Adam is more than a name on the wall.  _ He will not be forgotten.” _ His voice dropped for a moment, “I'm sorry we weren't here in time, Adam." 

Shiro took in a shaking breath before looking over to Iverson, eyes still shining, but determined as his posture went from slouched to rigid, respecting his superior officer instead of mourning with his godfather. "Debriefing, sir?" He wanted to stay where he was, wanted to have his moment to mourn the man he had known, who had been his flight partner for years before and after anything else, but war waited for no one. 

A lesson he’d learned painfully well.   
  
" _ Actually _ , there's someone who would like to see you first..." Iverson trailed off, giving Shiro a small smile before gesturing the direction in which he wanted them to move. Instinctively trusting the man, Shiro followed, curious but not too worried. He was the superior officer among those who had been in space, even if it wasn’t something he’d really worried about too much. It wasn’t hard to believe that there would be people questioning him constantly.

He just hoped this one would be easy.

Walking down the hallway was almost familiar as they made their way towards the offices senior officers held, all of them looking distinctly more used than they had been before Shiro went to Kerberos. (Not that they hadn’t been used before, but now it seemed people were constantly in and out given the wear that was visible within some of the rooms.) Coming to the only closed door in the hall, however, he could hear familiar voices conversing: one lower, deeper, closer to his own low tenor voice while the other three were higher, feminine.

He had to pause before the door, looking over at Iverson, who merely gave a small smile and nod of the head towards the closed door. Hand shaking, he reached out to grab the door handle, pushing the door open and looking inside.

Closest to the door was Colleen Holt, looking as cheerful as she had when the Paladins had all pulled into the Garrison grounds. Standing beside her, leaning against the wall, was a man who could easily have been Shiro himself before the Kerberos mission, wearing clothing that hung a little bit looser than he remembered, arms crossed over his chest. Seated in the two chairs that were before Iverson’s desk were two women, one smaller and bearing a somewhat strong resemblance to Shiro and his doppleganger, the other being larger with a pair of glasses perched on her nose.

Shiro’s entrance to the room caused the conversation to come to a halt, all eyes on him, quickly sizing him up before both women were standing and moving towards him, the other man pushing himself from the wall to join them, all looking as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “I -- Ryou? Aunt Satomi? Aunt Naoko?” ...for that matter,  ** _Shiro _ ** was having trouble believing what he was seeing, what he was feeling as arms reached around and engulfed him, holding him close.

“Kashi…!” Shiro’s doppelganger -- Shiro’s  _ twin  _ \-- tightened his grip on him, his face moving to press against the side of Shiro’s neck, breathing hitching as Shiro lifted his arm to wrap it around Satomi, the shorter of his aunts, holding her close as she just quietly took in the fact that yes, he was there. He was  _ alive _ . 

Naoko for her part seemed content to wrap her arm around Satomi’s back, resting just below Shiro’s against the small of her wife’s back, giving Shiro a small smile. “Things really haven’t been the  _ same  _ without you around. After the Galra invaded, after we managed to get ourselves here to help out, we heard from Mitch that you were still alive last anyone had heard, but then Voltron was gone for so long...and all we knew was that you’d last been with Voltron.”

“I was -- I am,” he corrected himself, holding onto Satomi tighter. “It’s -- it’s a long story, and I mean I, uh, I did die? But I came back in one piece.”

From where he rested in the crook of Shiro’s neck, Ryou snorted. “Missing an arm, and you say you’re in one piece?” He lifted his head up, looking Shiro in the eye even as he wrapped an arm around Shiro’s back, resting above Satomi’s. “Well, there is one piece here. I guess that will have to count,  _ niichan _ .”

Something sounding like a mixture of a laugh and a stifled sob came from Shiro’s throat, leaning into his brother’s arm, letting a portion of his weight rest on him even as he shook his head. Here he was, with his family once more, something he had long feared would never happen again. They were still in the midst of war, a war that had come to their doorstep and invited itself inside, but there were still happy moments to be found, moments to push them forward towards victory.

Victory, or death. And he’d  **already ** died once before, he  _ wasn’t  _ going to go down again, not now that he’d returned to his team and his family.

He stood there for several long moments, quietly muttering with his aunts, with his brother, before hearing shuffling behind him. Lifting his head and looking back, he saw Colleen moving to leave the room, with Iverson still standing out in the hallway. Gently relaxing his grip on Satomi, Shiro let out a soft sigh.

“...as much as I’d rather stay with you guys, I have duties to attend to.” He really didn’t want to pull away from them -- not after having just found out they were there, they were alive, they were  _ safe _ ! -- but they needed to get things done, he and the Paladins and the senior officers of the Garrison, and it felt so much more real now.

Iverson let out a sigh even as one corner of his mouth turned upward. “Kashi, you  _ could  _ have taken a little more time for yourself. The rest of your team had time with their families that...frankly, I’m ashamed of myself for not thinking about  _ your  _ family.”

Shiro gently shook his head, untangling himself from his twin, his aunts, giving Iverson a grim smile. “It’s understandable, Uncle Mitch. There was a lot going on, and, well.” Instead of saying anything, he lifted the cloth covered stump that was attached to his right shoulder. His eyes moved from Iverson to Colleen, however, the smile softening into something more genuine as he stepped closer, hesitating before quickly wrapping his single arm around her shoulders for a hug. “Thank you for finding them, Mrs. Holt.”

For her part, Colleen was only slightly startled, just enough to let out a quickly muffled squeak before wrapping her arms gently around Shiro. “That’s what family does, Lt. You were there for Matt, Katie, and Sam when I couldn’t be, and they all consider you family -- so you are. Simple as that. You all are.” Her arms squeezed tighter for a moment before letting go, letting Shiro pull himself back as well, eyes alight with emotion.

“I just did what anyone else would have done,” he gently protested before looking over to Iverson once more. “Debriefing?”

Giving the ladies (and Ryou) a glance, Iverson nodded. “We’ll leave you four be. This might take a while--”

“Don’t worry about us,” Satomi was quick to interrupt Iverson, remaining close to her wife as Ryou snorted softly. “We’ve got plans, too, Kashi. We’ll see you sometime after you get done doing what you need to do. Just remember, we’re here for you, okay?”

Taking in a deep breath, Shiro smiled. “I know. I’m glad. I love you.” The smile widened as Ryou stepped forward, gently pushing his twin out the door. “In such a hurry to get rid of me now?”

“We have things to do, Kashi- _ niichan _ . Go. The sooner you finish your debriefing, the sooner we can really relax.” Even as he said that, there was a smile on Ryou’s face almost matching Shiro’s, who began laughing as he and Iverson departed, moving back down the hallway.

* * *

Not even Shiro, with years of dealing with reporting to the upper brass of the Garrison before going to Kerberos, was expecting how long it took to fully be debriefed. There was going over the things that had happened between Sam’s departure and their arrival, over the things that Sam might not have known, and over what had happened on Earth for the Paladins and crew.

Near the end of the debriefing, Colleen had quietly leaned over to speak to Pidge before excusing herself, something Shiro took note of (along with Colleen’s late arrival, but given she was a civilian, it wasn’t anything  _ too  _ strange as far as he could tell). The rest of the team quietly spoke among themselves, Lance looking excited before dashing out the moment things were done. Hunk and Keith followed long after, gently coaxing Allura, Romelle, and Coran to come with them, leaving Pidge and Shiro behind.

Smiling despite the tired look on his face, Sam came over to Pidge and Shiro, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Well, we should get going. Colleen is waiting for us.”

“Yeah, I’m excited! It’s gonna be great, isn’t it?” Pidge turned to grin up at her dad before looking at Shiro -- causing him to look slightly wary at the gaze that she was giving him, holding up his hand.

“Hey, you go on and spend time with your family, Pidge. You’ve  _ more  _ than earned it. I’ve got--” He was promptly interrupted as Pidge moved behind her father and jumped right onto Shiro’s back, her body wiggling against his a bit as she tried to get up onto a more stable position, completely catching him off guard. “Hey! What are you doing?” His voice was worried as her legs wrapped around his waist from behind, arms draping over his shoulders as Sam let go, her chin moving to rest on one of her arms, right beside his face -- close enough that he could feel what stubble gathered on his cheek rubbing against her smoother skin.

As if to emphasize that, she took a moment to rub her cheek against his, still grinning. “You’re coming with us! Orders from the highest in command of our family.”

“She’s right, Colleen wouldn’t hear the end of it if you didn’t come,” Sam added, still standing beside Shiro, almost hovering with his hand ghosting over Pidge’s back, ensuring her position was stable before gently pushing, catching Shiro off guard again and forcing him to move forward.

Even so, Shiro had to protest as much as was polite. “But, my family--” He grunted a bit, moving his hand back to hold onto Pidge’s leg, holding onto her to ensure she was as stable as  _ he  _ could make her, leaning forward slightly. “I was going to go and look for them. I’m sure she would understand, if anyone…!”

Pidge hummed, shaking her head. “Nope. She specifically said this on the way out. You’re coming, and that’s that. Your family will understand, I promise.” The grin on her face softened as they slowly made their way towards a typically unoccupied room -- one similar, but less furnished to the one they had been in for the majority of the debriefing, containing chairs and tables and scents of food from Earth wafting out.

Letting out a final sigh of defeat, Shiro hung his head. “I’m dragging you over to meet them and you get to explain then, Katie.” Still, there was a small smile on his face as he turned to go into the room. There...was talking? If it was supposed to be just Colleen waiting for them, then why…?

He lifted his head as Sam moved away from them. Multiple tables were set and while there wasn’t as much food as there could be, it was all Earth food, all edible, and most importantly…

Ryou and Hunk were sharing food at one table while doodling on what appeared to be napkins, discussing things related to their field -- comparisons of what had happened while the Paladins were in space between Hunk’s direct knowledge and Ryou’s, both looking excited at the exchange of information.

Sam had moved to join Coran, Iverson, and Naoko in discussing...something, though Shiro wasn’t sure he wanted to know  _ what _ , given how enthusiastic Coran was looking. Lance was looking distinctly worried as he pulled one of his younger relatives away, scooping them up to ride on his shoulders.

Keith and Romelle were sitting with Lance’s mother, Maria -- Maria who looked misty eyed seeing those assembled mingling even as she carefully listened to Romelle speaking, watching Keith but not being overbearing as one might fear.

Allura and Veronica were watching much of the room with amusement, the two women seeming to be speaking of how to remain feminine while in the midst of a war -- an odd topic to bond over, if Shiro said so himself, but he wouldn’t judge.

His own feet moving further back, he smiled as Pidge wiggled, wordlessly asking to be set down as she went towards more children that were running around -- all from Lance’s family, surely, but they looked excited to have a new face joining them.

And then there were what was likely the two women responsible for bringing all of these people together.

Colleen Holt and Satomi Shirogane.

Even the high shriek that came from one of the children as Kosmo nosed their back, playing gently with the kids (or as gently as a cosmic wolf could, which apparently was pretty gentle) couldn’t take the soft smile off of his face, watching the two women chatting animatedly.

As his shadow fell over them, they both looked up, with Satomi giving Shiro a wry grin.

“Welcome home, Kashi.”

His mom might be gone, and they might still have Hunk’s family to rescue, Keith’s mom to acquaint with humanity, and a war to go through, but this was his family as they were his.

He was home at last.


End file.
